Reviews Are in for L.A.'s First Bike-Friendly Street

At under a mile, L.A.'s first official "bike-friendly street" isn't going to transform the commuting habits of many Angelenos. Nevertheless, as an example of the city's new attitude to bicycling, recent improvements to Yucca Street are worth noting.

The LA Weekly's resident critic of all transportation non-automotive, Alissa Walker, reviews the changes that have transformed Yucca Street, as it runs through Hollywood, from "a good street for biking into a great one."

While not a part of city's ambitious 2010 Bicycle Plan, Yucca Street already boasted traffic diverting elements to keep motorists from using it as a shortcut, thus making it the ideal "low-hanging fruit" for creating the city's first official "bike-friendly street."

So while the $200,000 in improvements (including street repairs) didn't transform the street, they're certainly welcome upgrades for cyclists. "In addition to
"sharrows" (those painted bike icons on the asphalt), the curbs at each
diverter (the median-like strips sticking into the intersection to
divert cars) had been cut into paths just wide enough for a bike," explains Walker. "A sign
above each diverter amends the 'Right Turn Only' message to autos with
an 'Except Bicycles' disclaimer."

"This detail might not be obvious to a driver, so new signage
signals to everyone that Yucca is different. Small green bike icons
have been affixed to the top of each Yucca street sign, a massive
aesthetic improvement over the 'Bike Route' signs you see on most
streets, which are usually tacked like an afterthought in places that
are easy for drivers (and bikers) to miss."

"It's a tiny gesture, yes," says Walker, "but it's the equivalent of the red carpet to a
cyclist in L.A., where we have so little 'bikes only' real estate."

Planning: A professional practice and an academic study focused on the future of built environments and connected natural environments—from the smallest towns to the largest cities and everything in between.

Planetizen: The independent resource for people passionate about planning and related fields.